Typical sprinkler systems used for lawns and other landscaped areas include water supply lines which are placed below ground and extend from a main supply pipe to each sprinkler head. The sprinkler head extends upwardly to the upper surface of the ground. Typical sprinkler heads are of the “pop-up” style which extend upwardly above the grass when pressure is applied to the water in the supply line, and then the sprinkler head retracts when it is no longer in use. The top of the sprinkler head remains exposed at ground level.
In some installations, the sprinkler head is connected to the water supply pipe with a flexible pipe. Although this enables the installer to more easily position the sprinkler head in a desired place, the flexible pipe provides little, if any, support to the sprinkler head (either lateral or vertical support). As a result, when soil is filled in around the sprinkler head, the sprinkler head can tilt to one side or the other, and the sprinkler head can also sink downwardly. When the sprinkler head is too close to a sidewalk or curb, etc., the spinning metal blade of an edger can irreparably damage any sprinkler head which is too close to the sidewalk, curb, etc. Then the sprinkler head must be replaced, at considerable time and expense.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,146,181 (Soos), 5,678,353 (Tsao), 6,186,416 (Jones) and D410,731 (Bowman et al.) describe various types of sprinkler head guards, grass guards, and mats for use on or around sprinkler heads. However, there has not heretofore been provided a sprinkler spacer and installation technique of the type described herein.